Has anyone experienced shoulder issues due to "leaning" or "slumping" from the social dance partner? i ask because according to to my Natrotheripist/Myotheripist i have the shoulders of a 60 year old, or to give a better perspective he would expect to see shoulders like mine in someone who had played professional Australia Football League (AFL) for 10 years, he said that this would be due to either lifting extreme weights or weight/pressure being put onto my shoulders, luckly this can be fixed, but it does raise the question, Do you think the "slumping" action that most beginners seem to portray and my intent to "hold my frame" throughout this could be the cause, Also what do you do if you experience a "slumper"

Zac

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Dance is poetry written for the feet, read by the heart, and destined for the soul.

I think it might be caused by cramping up. Try to maintain frame whilst relaxing the shoulders more. Elongate your neck by dropping the shoulders but not the elbows. Another reason might be that you "round" your shoulders and slump inward. Also do you spend a lot behind the pc? this deffenitly doesn't help either

« Last Edit: April 24, 2009, 10:25:26 AM by Vagabond »

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Dancing with the feet is one thing, but dancing with the heart is another.

That seems to be a common complaint with the gentlemen who social dance. They say that moving the ladies around the floor is like moving a bag of cement. I am a follow, but it seems to me holding correct frame with an inexperienced follow isn't the best thing to do.

Yes! I am a follower. When I dance with a taller guy and he leans forward and pushes on my right arm (especially during smooth), that eventually starts to hurt. I don't have any solutions, except avoiding dancing smooth with guys who do that to me.

Yes that will become a problem for you, us guys have to keep the frame as open as possible with much shorter partners but also try to lead and that is hard when the energy has to be projected downwards, its not your fault its bl..dy gravity

« Last Edit: April 24, 2009, 08:13:23 PM by Vagabond »

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Dancing with the feet is one thing, but dancing with the heart is another.

Yes that will become a problem for you, us guys have to keep the frame as open as possible with much shorter partners but also try to lead and that is hard when the energy has to bes projected downwards, its not your fault its bl..dy gravity

Well, my teacher is 6'2" and somehow he does not push me on my shoulder.

Yes my teachers have been dancing 1. for 40 years and another for 25 years... and they can lead really well and they both intimate that it takes years for a man to become proficient at leading properly.

I look forward to that journey with my partner :-) How do you test it I would ask....I think that is dancing with some you don't know who does not know the dance and you can lead them through it. IMO

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Dance is a delicate balance between perfection and beauty. ~Author UnknownDance Forum

Well, my teacher is 6'2" and somehow he does not push me on my shoulder.

Thats why he is a "teacher" and all others are "students" they have to learn not to do that to you

I've heard quite a few times, in our advanced ballroom class, that a man should lead from his center and not push with his arms. That certainly helps to alleviate the problem, this is why I reserve smooth dances for leaders from this class, or sit them out.

They say that moving the ladies around the floor is like moving a bag of cement.

I think that is not fair to the bags of cement.

But on a more friendly note, steer away from partners twice your weight, on street shoes/sneekers and that like to be over-flamboyant

I might be one of the first to use the bag of cement analogy, but I disagree with the weight comment. I dance with a BIG woman who probably is 2X my weight but about 5 inches shorter than me and she is one of the best follows I've ever danced with. I've also danced with women about my weight who WERE like bags of cement. The difference is that the large lady knows how to dance (private lessons every week) whereas the other person I'm specifically thinking of does maybe one group class per week.